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Trip home smooth for many Thanksgiving travelers

Monday - 11/26/2012, 4:02am EST

By PHUONG LE
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) - Despite a predicted increase in the number of holiday travelers, Americans returning home after the long Thanksgiving weekend found generally good weather, few airport delays and at times manageable conditions on the nation's highways.

Travel appeared to run smoothly Sunday _ typically the busiest travel day of the year _ as millions journeyed home after feasting with family and friends, even though there was little elbow room on packed buses, trains and airplanes.

Many travelers strategically hit the road early in the day or waited until much later to avoid possible bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Craig Haft, 57, left Cincinnati with his wife and daughter around 6:15 a.m. to drive to their home in Fairfax, Va., after visiting family. At midday, he reported smooth driving.

"It went fine on Wednesday and has been good so far today," he said.

Some were upbeat despite long journeys ahead. Andy Harbison, 38, said he didn't mind the 8-hour drive back to Harrisburg, Pa. after visiting family in Michigan.

The roads were good, he said, and he simply enjoyed being with family after being away from them during previous deployments to Iraq and Kuwait while in the National Guard.

Experts had predicted a slight rise in the number of people traveling this Thanksgiving weekend compared to last year. Some 43.6 million Americans were expected to journey 50 miles or more between Wednesday and Sunday, and more of them were likely to be driving while fewer were flying, according to AAA's yearly analysis.

Mauro Scappa and his wife, Chris, and their two children were among those who chose not to take to the skies. They braced themselves for delays as they waited at New York's Penn Station for a train back to Washington, near their home in Falls Church, Va. But their train was expected on time Sunday morning.

Renee Kerns, her husband Mike and their two children left about 30 minutes earlier than usual to catch a flight to home to California. They anticipated longer lines at the Washington-area Dulles International Airport, but sailed through security in about 10 minutes and were at their gate for their 8:30 a.m. flight to Oakland, Calif., more than an hour before their flight.

"It was fine," Renee Kerns said of getting through security. Added her husband: "Easy, but we're early."

Helped by dry weather and mostly clear skies, both O'Hare and Midway international airports in Chicago reported normal operations Sunday with no delays.

Leonard Reddick, 29, waited near downtown Chicago for a bus back to Flint, Mich. He traveled on Thanksgiving day to see his sister in the Chicago area, explaining that it's his trick for avoiding the huge crowds on the day before the holiday. He also liked the $84 roundtrip fare.

Reddick, who works at General Motors, was rethinking one decision as he was gearing up for the five-hour trip back home to Michigan: He had declined the turkey and mac and cheese leftovers because he thought it might mess up his luggage.

The tens of millions of holiday travelers also included a few thousand users of Megabus, the ultra-cheap inter-city network popular among students and the creative class. Shane Dillon, 26, a librarian now living and seeking work in Chicago, joined the throng waiting to board at Detroit's Rosa Parks Transit Center for the return trip to the Windy City. He was in the area visiting relatives in Allen Park, Mich.

"It was great to see family and friends. The food was good," Dillon said. A few days, though, was enough. "I'm glad to be going home."

Dense fog greeted travelers at Union Station in Los Angeles early Sunday, but it didn't appear to cause problems.

Mike Lansing, 63, and his wife Kay, 60, opted to take Amtrak for the first time to their home in the San Francisco Bay area after weighing high gas prices. They spent a week in LA with their daughter, son-in-law and new grandson.

He said he's relieved not to have to get behind the wheel. "I don't know if we're really saving any money, but it's an adventure!" said Kay Lansing.

At the Boise Airport, Charles Beyer, 59, waited for luggage after having just arrived from Portland, Ore., where he visited his son and daughter. He said he found most of his fellow passengers complacent about the challenges of traveling during the holiday weekend through packed airports.

"The good old days of pulling up to the curb and getting onto the airplane in five minutes are long gone," he said.